Learning a language through games.

[triggrhappy94]

So, I'm studying Japanese--mostly on my own.
I've heard one of the ways to do this is by playing games in Japanese.
I'm not sure which games would work best for this, so I could really use some suggestions.

I already have Pokémon Emerald and Mother 3 for my Gameboy emulator.
I have a Wii and a 360 along with a computer that is semi-competent at gaming.
I'm not going to track down a Japanese 360, so I can play region-locked games.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

I know I probably won't have the most helpful answer, but I've been playing Phantasy Star Online 2 on the JP servers since June of last year, and I think it might help a little bit with learning Japanese if you have the motivation to get into it. Not sure how much you're into MMOs, though. Just my idea since a lot of friends I gained on the game found it a motivating factor in self-learning the language.

Personally, I have an interest in learning the language, but I have trouble putting in that first effort to really get going. I did start memorizing a few katakana a week or so ago, but haven't used any more time on studying charts. However, since I now have a lot of free time on my hands, I may get into it more.

Good luck with your studies.

 

[BeeGeenie]

It probably depends on whether you're learning to read, or want to improve listening comprehension, but pretty much any game would do.

I studied German for a few years, but I tried using German copies of the Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale to "brush up," and man, that was tough.
Turns out you don't use phrases like "weapon specialization" in everyday German conversation. (Who knew, right?)

My only advice is to invest in a really good dictionary, and don't expect it to be as much fun as it sounds. :/

 

[triggrhappy94]

Personally, I have an interest in learning the language, but I have trouble putting in that first effort to really get going. I did start memorizing a few katakana a week or so ago, but haven't used any more time on studying charts. However, since I now have a lot of free time on my hands, I may get into it more.

I'd suggest looking into Anki. It's a flashcard program that helps space out cards, so you're not overwhelmed by new cards or studying old cards more often than you have too. Their website seems a little sketch at first, but it's safe.
The program itself has a really steep learning curve, but the tutorials on Youtube give enough information to get started. There's also some really good pre-made deck on their site for Japanese--I suggest the Core 2000)
I also suggest starting with Hiragana, it's a lot easier and more useful.
I got through Hiragana in a little over two weeks, learning about 5 new characters a day. I started Katakana, but that's a lot harder. I'm studying Kanji radical now while taking a break from Katakana. The overlap between Kata and the Radicals will hopefully help a lot.

Spoiler: More on my study plan

I also suggest Japanesepod101. If you have the time and patience, it's 100% possible to download everything they have to offer within their 7 day free trial period so you don't pay a dime. They give you free roam of their site for that first week including content they normally only offer to premium members. If that sounds like too much, their subscription offers run between $5 and %25, which gives one-click downloads (instead of right-click, "Save Target As" every lesson) along with worksheets for higher paying members.
I also have Rosetta Stone, which is alright but a little expensive--and there's no way to get it for free legally.
Both of those don't have very good grammar lessons: Rosetta Stone doesn't explain anything and has bad pacing; JP101 wants you to look at the PDF for each lesson, which would take up too much space with at least 25 lessons per series.
I use JP101 (listen to it during my commute, when I workout, or while gaming) for the insight in the language, and both of them for vocabulary.
When either of them get to a grammar point a don't know yet, I thoroughly look it up (About.com has a good series of articles on verb conjugation).

In my Anki, I have a deck for Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji Radicals, Kanji, Vocabulary from Rosetta Stone and JP101, Verb conjugation and the Core 2000 series (which is it's own source of vocabulary). I'm going to add decks soon for Adjective Conjugation and Particles
Let me know if you have any questions.

It may seem like a lot and really overwhelming, but that's just part of teaching yourself--higher highs and lower lows. It all pays off when it starts to come to together. I can't tell you how exciting it was when I was able to successfully read my first word in Hiragana.
Also, learn Kana as soon as possible. Romaji is a crutch that should be avoided when possible--I in. It'll even slow you don later. Get familiar with Kanji radicals too (Tofugu.com and Jisho.com have a good charts); it makes it so you learn Kanji in terms of smaller characters instead of individual strokes.

 

[Khinjarsi]

When I go through my "I want to re-learn or widen my German knowledge" phases, I like to play games in German where I can. Of course I try to play through or at least memorise the menu options first, so I know which words roughly translate. I've also tried to learn a video game language (as loose as it might be), Al Bhed from FFX, but that kind of fell by the wayside.

Of course, I don't suggest only relying on video games and media for learning a new language, but it's certainly useful to do something you enjoy in a new language as it only encourages you to keep going. Good luck with it all!

 

[Maximum Bert]

I am interested in this as well I dont know what games to suggest I mean I have K-ON on the PSP and I can understand most of that now but I wouldnt reccommend it to learn the language.

I use Anki which is good but I have had to place limiters on there now as 3000 reps a day is way to much for me so I usually cap it at 1600 ish. I also use a website called textfugu which is pretty good I find when used with other texts.

For Kanji I used the Heisig method but added the Onyomi sounds in as well to make it more usuable which took me quite a while I was adding about 100 Kanji a week to 200 with the Onyomi for 10 weeks or so but my reading improved massively from this it needs to improve a heck of a lot more but its a start.

Just reading simple Manga is quite good practice I find. I really need to move into studying Japanese full time now though I could juggle a few things for the first 8 months or so but its getting really hard to stay on top of it now even with getting up at 3:30 most mornings to study.

Oh and for grammar I found the book ` A dictionary of basic Japanese grammar` to be very helpful especially when used with textfugu as both explain grammar in different ways and use different examples giving a better picture of how its used.

Self study is hard but fun I find.

 

[CloudAtlas]

I've learned Japanese myself for a couple of years, so here's my two cents.

Learning by playing can work, as much as learning by reading or watching anime or movies. It's always better to learn by doing something that you at least like well enough anyway. But you need to be aware of what exactly you are learning there - the language in games/anime can be quite different from standard Japanese, depending on the game.

However, I think you need a sufficient base for this way to work. If you're a beginner and barely understand anything, you might catch a few expressions or phrases but that'll be it. And it might not be very enjoyable either.

 

[sanquin]

My brother learned Japanese through watching a lot of anime with subtitles. Seems to work better than games. Or if you want to learn their alphabet, then yes a game would probably be best.

 

[MXRom]

Listening to Metro in Russian indirectly taught me a surprising amount of Russian.

Which is saying a lot. Most times all I learn from a new language is how to cuss.

 

[piinyouri]

I learned Daedric through a combination of reading the scrolls in Morrowind, and looking at the map that came with the game.


I know that's not what you were asking for, but that is the only time I've learned any bit of language from a game.

 

[Tanakh]

I think this is a terrible idea. Most of the games with heavy use of language won't use hiragana, but kanji almost exclusively. The chance of you learning japanese that way sounds very very VERY low.

The only way this might work is if you have a kanji dictionary, lots of patience and... no... I still can't see this as a practical way. If you are going to do it anyway, JRPGs are the obv way to do it, it might help to play one that you know by heart.

 

[VanQ]

I'm doing actual classes at my local university and to be honest, there is no better way than to learn Japanese from a qualified teacher. There are a lot of bad habits that are present in games that will have you speaking broken Japanese that will leave you either unable to competently communicate with an actual Japanese person or unable to properly speak to an actual Japanese person.

Learning a language from "games and anime" is a BAD IDEA. No, seriously! Don't do it, man!

By proper, I mean the correct usage of keigo, masu and plain form and general etiquette that is expected of someone speaking the language. You can not learn this from games or written texts and you will most likely have no one to practice actually talking and listening to.

I read LNs, play some VNs and games like iDOLM@STER and the Atelier series and various other text heavy games as a side to my actual Japanese classes. It's good as extra study but if you're going to put in the hard yards to learn the language I would implore you to go to a school so you can learn in confidence and get a piece of paper at the end that says you can properly speak the language. You'd be amazed how impressive that looks on your resume compared to "learned Japanese from games and anime"!

As an extra recommendation, the best Japanese dictionaries in existence in my opinion are both digital. Use Nihongodict.com at home when you can't recognize a kanji and install AEdict on your smartphone for on the run.

 

[triggrhappy94]

It's kind of funny every one's assuming I'm trying to learn from the games alone even after I posted my study plan in the fourth comment.
I already know Hiragana, I'm familiar with most kanji radicals, I've been studying verb conjugations and particles, and I'm going to start adjective conjugations and more actual kanji when I'm finished studying Katakana.
I'm also going to start taking classes--I'm going to already know everything they are going to cover, but it's required for my study abroad program and they have tutors I'll be able to talk to.

As an extra recommendation, the best Japanese dictionaries in existence in my opinion are both digital. Use Nihongodict.com at home when you can't recognize a kanji and install AEdict on your smartphone for on the run.

Thanks. I've mostly been using Jisho.org and Google, which I've had mixed results with. Jisho.org is good for kanji though.

 

[Legion]

It's kind of funny every one's assuming I'm trying to learn from the games alone even after I posted my study plan in the fourth comment.

It's normally best to edit in relevant information into the opening post in threads asking for help. The majority of people are going to look at that for the topic, and assume replies are other people offering their own help.

If it hadn't been for your reply just before I started typing, I'd have missed it as well.

*snip*

Pretty much beaten to most of what I was going to say. You also make me feel bad for being very lazy when it comes to learning Japanese. Although if classes were in my area, I reckon I'd have a lot more motivation. It sucks living in a fairly rural area.

 

[Ferdy Hoefakker]

I learned basic English skills by playing a Link to the Past back when it first came out, as I got tired of always having to rely on my parents to translate the dialogue for me

That, coupled with watching Saturday morning cartoons on the BBC cause they had cooler cartoons

 

[CloudAtlas]

I'm doing actual classes at my local university and to be honest, there is no better way than to learn Japanese from a qualified teacher. There are a lot of bad habits that are present in games that will have you speaking broken Japanese that will leave you either unable to competently communicate with an actual Japanese person or unable to properly speak to an actual Japanese person.

Learning a language from "games and anime" is a BAD IDEA. No, seriously! Don't do it, man!

By proper, I mean the correct usage of keigo, masu and plain form and general etiquette that is expected of someone speaking the language. You can not learn this from games or written texts and you will most likely have no one to practice actually talking and listening to.

He didn't say that she intended to learn by these means alone, starting from zero. That would be neither a bad idea, nor a good idea, it would simply be impossible.

And a beginner in learning a language, like the OP is, doesn't need to worry about "proper", i.e. appropriately polite language so much. If you're able to communicate just in plain Japanese, you'll already have achieved quite something. Keigo should be the least of your worries at this stage.

But yea, you should still be aware that the girls in Anime often tend to talk very... let's say, feminine, and the dudes aren't exactly polite, so if you don't pay attention you'll sound like a girl and an ass.

 

[Yopaz]

One of the reasons I've learned English is that I play games and they have also been a source for parts of my vocabulary. Motivation is also a great educational tool so I wish you the best of luck with this.

It should be noted that not all Xbox 360 games have region protection.

Tales of Vesperia got partial region lock so it can be played in Japan and USA (I hate how they block it from Europe).

Also http://www.play-asia.com/Dragons_Dogma_Dark_Arisen/paOS-13-71-dw-49-en-70-62ol.html you can pick Japanese as one of the subtitle languages while having English audio.

 

[Tanakh]

It's kind of funny every one's assuming I'm trying to learn from the games alone even after I posted my study plan in the fourth comment.
I already know Hiragana, I'm familiar with most kanji radicals, I've been studying verb conjugations and particles, and I'm going to start adjective conjugations and more actual kanji when I'm finished studying Katakana.
I'm also going to start taking classes--I'm going to already know everything they are going to cover, but it's required for my study abroad program and they have tutors I'll be able to talk to.

As an extra recommendation, the best Japanese dictionaries in existence in my opinion are both digital. Use Nihongodict.com at home when you can't recognize a kanji and install AEdict on your smartphone for on the run.

Thanks. I've mostly been using Jisho.org and Google, which I've had mixed results with. Jisho.org is good for kanji though.

BTW, I assumed you knew basically what you know. That's why I wrote what I did, the only games that make sense to learn will be dialogue heavy ones with no real time action to speak of, classic SNES JRPGs seem your best choice; you will still need a TON of patience and it's a non optimal way to learn, but if it keeps you interested and enjoying the learning, then it's fine. If you have played any SNES JRPG and liked it, I would start there, if not, start at Chrono Trigger (クロノ・トリガ&#12540, great game, great writing, and it's kanjis are at grade school level. Just as a comment, there is no fucking way you are familiar with "most" kanji radicals if you don't know katakana, the former is 1000+ complex characters, the latter is less than 60 easy ones.

Also my japanese teachers were all uneasy with the idea of learning from games and mangas, but they were proper old ladies and it might have been just a prejudice.

Finally, learning Jap from Eng is nothing at all as Eng from a different Roman alphabet based language.

Edit: If you want a game with middle school level Japanse, then Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (真・女神転生III-NOCTURNE) is your best choice in my experience, it is on PS2, and since you can emulate Wii, chances are you can emulate a PS2 with playable specs. In general however you won't find games with above grade school level.

 

[Ez0lv]

What about learning russian from S.T.A.L.K.E.R?

 

[Miyenne]

Japanese isn't a difficult language to learn conversationally, until you get into the kanji and reading comprehension. I got my degree in Japanese, and then promptly ignored most things Japanese for ten years save a few animes here and there.

I've been watching Japanese sitcoms and trying to force myself to think in Japanese again lately to try and pick it back up. It's working quite well, but my retention of kanji never was very good. Hiragana and katakana aren't that hard to learn, but it all takes practice. As you already have them learned you're in good shape, and you sound like you're even ahead of me in kanji.

Learning it through a game would be rather difficult, as someone else said, terms and phrases used in games aren't generally used in real conversations. As VanQ said, classes are best. Find a teacher you like and work closely with them.

I'll always remember my sensei, I took classes at the cultural centre in high school, and then fours years in university. The same sensei from the cultural centre ended up taking over the language classes at my university, and it was wonderful to have a teacher I knew and was comfortable going to for extra help and guidance.

Hopefully it all works out for you, and good luck!